A tell-all book written by Donald Trump’s niece Mary Trump was temporarily blocked by a judge in New York Tuesday. The preliminary injunction follows a claim by Trump’s brother Robert Trump that publication of the book would violate a confidentiality agreement between family members signed when settling the estate of Donald and Robert Trump’s father, The New York Times reported. The book, titled Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, is published by Simon & Schuster and scheduled for release on July 28.
New York Supreme Court Judge Hal B. Greenwald, in Dutchess County, issued the order requiring Mary Trump to explain why the book should not be blocked from publication within seven days, in addition to ordering both sides to submit paperwork. No portion of the book can be distributed until a decision has been made by the court on whether to grant a permanent injunction ahead of publication, Greenwald said.
Lawyers for Simon & Schuster quickly filed an appeal on the basis that the book has already been shipped and cannot be stopped. Thousands of the 75,000 copies printed have already been shipped to sellers, the publishing company said in court papers.
Following the announcement of the preliminary injunction, Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp noted that blocking the publication of this book would not only interfere with the publishing company’s constitutionally protected rights but “with Simon & Schuster’s readers’ constitutionally protected rights to receive newsworthy reporting,” the Associated Press reported. "In my over 30 years working in book publishing, I am not aware of a book that was ever enjoined and censured from the public for any reason," Karp said.
Mary Trump’s lawyer Theodore J. Boutrous added that while the order is temporary it is a violation of the First Amendment. “The trial court’s temporary restraining order is only temporary, but it still is a prior restraint on core political speech that flatly violates the First Amendment,” Boutrous said in a statement. “This book, which addresses matters of great public concern and importance about a sitting president in an election year, should not be suppressed even for one day.”
In a statement to ABC News Charles Harder, a lawyer for Robert Trump, said his client was “very pleased” with the judge’s decision. "The actions of Mary Trump and Simon & Schuster are truly reprehensible. We look forward to vigorously litigating this case, and will seek the maximum remedies available by law for the enormous damages caused by Mary Trump’s breach of contract and Simon & Schuster’s intentional interference with that contract,” Harder said. “Short of corrective action to immediately cease their egregious conduct, we will pursue this case to the very end."
Last month Trump told Axios his niece was “not allowed to write a book.” An online description of the book says it reveals “a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse.” In addition to taking action against his niece’s book, the Trump administration also took legal action against a book written by John Bolton, the former national security adviser. In that case, a federal judge denied the Department of Justice's motion on the basis that Bolton's book had already been distributed and that the court would "not order a nationwide seizure and destruction of a political memoir," CNN reported.
Mary Trump is the daughter of Fred Trump Jr., who died in 1981 and was an elder brother to Donald Trump. When Fred Trump Sr. died, Fred Trump Jr.’s children including Mary Trump were cut from any inheritance and made to sign a nondisclosure agreement in exchange for a settlement. Robert Trump had previously attempted to block the publication of the book in a Queens County Surrogate Court but a judge dismissed it for lack of jurisdiction. A hearing is set for July 10.